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FIRST  KENTUCKY  BRIGADE 


i:V    I  I  - 


ADJUTANT    GENERAL,    G.    B.    HODGE. 


h  K  A  X  K  FOR  'I"  ,    K  V 

AT     THK     KKNU.'CKY     VI 
MAJOR     &    JOHNSTON. 


SKETCH 


OF    THE 


FIRST  KENTUCKY  BRIGADE 


BY   ITS 


ADJUTANT    GENERAL,    G.    B.    HODGE. 

II 


FRANKFORT,    KY. 

PRINTED    AT    THE    KENTUCKY    YEOMAN    OFFICE. 
MAJOR    &    JOHNSTON. 

I874. 


4 


TO 

GENERAL    JOHN     C.     BRECKINRIDGE, 
ITS    NOBLE    COMMANDER, 

TO    THE 
GALLANT   SURVIVORS, 

AND    TO    THE 

MEMORY  OF   THE   IMMORTAL   DEAD 
OF    THE    BRIGADE, 

THIS   SKETCH 
IS    AFFECTIONATELY    DEDICATED. 


2 

^  \ 

SKETCH   OF   THE    iST   KENTUCKY   BRIGADE. 


In  the  general  history  which  will  go  down  to  posterity  of  such 
immense  bodies  of  men  as  were  gathered  under  the  banners  of 
the  Confederate  States  of  America,  it  is  not  likely  that  more  than 
a  brief  and  cursory  reference  can  or  will  be  made  to  the  services 
of  so  small  a  force  as  composed  the  First  Kentucky  Brigade. 
Yet  the  anomalous  position  which  it  occupied,  in  regard  to  the 
revolution,  in  having  revolted  against  both  State  and  Federal 
authority,  exiling  itself  from  home,  from  fortune,  from  kindred, 
and  from  friends — abandoning  everything  which  makes  life  desir 
able,  save  honor — gave  it  an  individuality  which  cannot  fail  to 

I  attract  the  attention  of  the  calm  student,  who,  in  coming  years, 

traces  the  progress  of  the  mighty  social  convulsion  in  which  it 
acted  no  ignoble  part.  The  State,  too,  from  which  it  came, 
whatever  may  be  its  destiny  or  its  ultimate  fate,  will  remember, 
with  melancholy  and  mournful  interest,  not,  perhaps,  unmingled 
with  remorse,  the  career  of  that  gallant  band  of  men,  who,  of 
all  the  thousands  in  its  borders  inheriting  the  proud  name  and 
lofty  fame  of  Kentuckians,  stood  forth  fearlessly  by  deeds  to 
express  the  sentiments  of  an  undoubted  majority  of  her  people 
— disapprobation  of  wrong  and  tyranny.  Children  now  in  their 
cradles,  youths  as  yet  unborn,  will  inquire,  with  an  earnest  eager 
ness  which  volumes  of  recital  cannot  satisfy,  how  their  country- 

I  men  demeaned  themselves  in  the  fierce  ordeal  which  they  had 

elected  as  the  test  of  their  patriotism ;  how  they  bore  themselves 
on  the  march  and  in  the  bivouac  ;  how  in  the  trials  of  the  long 
and  sad  retreat ;  how  amid  the  wild  carnage  of  the  stricken  field. 
Fair  daughters  of  the  State  will  oftentimes,  even  amid  the  rigid 
censorship  which  forbids  utterance  of  words,  love  to  come  in 
thought  and  linger  about  the  lonely  graves  where  the  men  of 
the  Kentucky  Brigade  sleep,  wrapped  in  no  winding-sheets  save 
their  battle-clothes,  beneath  no  monuments  save  the  trees  of  the 
forest,  torn  and  mutilated  by  the  iron  storm,  in  which  the  slum- 
berers  met  death.  It  has  seemed  to  me  not  improper,  therefore, 

M214845 


4  First   Kentucky   Brigade. 

that  the  story  should  be  told  by  one  possessing  peculiar  facilities 
for  acquiring  knowledge  of  the  movements  of  detached  portions 
of  the  force,  and  who,  in  the  capacity  of  a  staff  officer,  under 
the  directions  of  its  General,  issued  every  order  and  partici 
pated  in  every  movement  of  the  brigade,  who  had  not  only  the 
opportunity  but  the  desire  to  do  justice  to  all  who  composed  it, 
from  him  who  bore  worthily  the  truncheon  of  the  General,  to 
those  who  not  less  worthily  in  their  places  bore  their  muskets  as 
privates.  A  deep  interest  will  always  be  felt  in  the  history  of 
the  effort  which  was  made,  by  men  strong  in  their  faith  in  the 
correctness  of  republican  forms  of  government,  notwithstanding 
the  tyranny  which  the  great  experiment  in  the  United  States 
had  culminated  in,  to  reconstruct  from  the  shattered  fragments 
of  free  institutions  upon  which  the  armies  of  the  Federal  power 
were  trampling,  a  social  and  political  fabric,  under  the  shelter  of 
which  they  and  their  posterity  might  enjoy  the  rights  of  free 
men.  When  the  first  seven  Southern  States  seceded,  and  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  took  the  initial  steps  to  coerce  them,  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Kentucky,  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  declared  that  any  attempt  to  do  so  by  march 
ing  troops  over  her  soil  would  be  resisted  to  the  last  extremity. 
The  Governor  had  refused  to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  Execu 
tive  for  troops  for  this  purpose.  The  Legislature  approved  his 
course.  But  here  unanimity  ceased  ;  effort  after  effort  was  made 
in  the  Legislature  to  provide  for  the  call  of  a  sovereignty  con 
vention.  The  majority  steadily  resisted  it.  As  a  compromise, 
the  neutrality  of  the  State  was  assumed,  acquiesced  in  by  the 
sympathizers  with  the  North  because  they  intended  to  violate  it 
when  the  occasion  was  ripe ;  acquiesced  in  by  the  Southern  men 
because,  while  their  impulses  all  prompted  them  to  make  com 
mon  cause  with  their  Southern  brethren,  they  believed  that  the 
neutrality  of  the  State,  in  presenting  an  effective  barrier  of  seven 
hundred  miles  of  frontier  between  the  South  and  invasion,  offered 
her  more  efficient  assistance  than  the  most  active  co-operation 
could  have  done.  The  Legislature  adjourned;  the  canvass  com 
menced  for  a  new  General  Assembly;  delegates  were  elected, 
pledged  to  strict  neutrality ;  the  Northern  sympathizers  had  been 
vigorous,  active,  and  energetic,  and  unscrupulous.  They  had  in 
every  county  organized  "Home  Guards;"  arms  were,  by  their 


First   Kentucky   Brigade.  5 

connivance,  introduced  by  the  Federal  Government  in  large 
quantities.  On  the  first  Monday  in  September  the  Legislature 
met,  the  mask  was  thrown  off;  neutrality  was  scouted ;  troops 
were  openly  levied  for  the  Northern  army,  and  the  outraged 
Southern  men  revolted. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1861,  bodies  of  the  young  men  of  the 
State  had  repaired  to  Camp  Boone,  in  Tennessee,  near  the  Ken 
tucky  line,  where  were  forming  regiments  to  be  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  Confederate  States.  Most  of  these  had  been 
previously  members  of  the  State  Guard  of  Kentucky,  and  con 
sequently  had  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  systematic  and  scientific 
drill.  They  were  rapidly  organized  into  three  regiments  of  infan 
try,  known  as  the  2d,  3d,  and  4th  Kentucky  Regiments  of  Vol 
unteers,  the  2d  having  as  its  Colonel,  J.  M.  Hawes,  recently  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  Army,  but  who,  with  a  devotion 
which  almost  invariably  manifested  itself  among  the  officers  of 
Southern  birth,  promptly  and  cheerfully  gave  up  the  advantages 
of  a  certain  and  fixed  position  in  a  regularly  organized  army,  to 
offer  his  sword  and  military  knowledge  to  the  cause  of  South 
ern  independence.  He  was  soon  succeeded  by  Colonel  Roger 
Hanson.  The  3d  had  as  its  Colonel,  Lloyd  Tighlman,  the  4th 
Robert  P.  Trabue.  Colonel  Tighlman,  before  his  regiment  was 
actively  in  service,  was  made  a  Brigadier,  and  its  Lieut.  Colonel, 
Thompson,  succeeded  to  the  Colonelcy.  These  three  regiments 
formed  the  nucleus  of  a  brigade,  to  the  command  of  which  Brig 
adier  General  S.  B.  Buckner,  recently  Inspector  General  and 
active  Commander  of  the  Kentucky  State  Guard,  was  assigned 
by  President  Davis.  To  this  command  were  afterwards  added 
the  5th  Kentucky,  commanded  by  Colonel  Thomas  Hunt,  the 
6th,  commanded  by  Colonel  Joseph  Lewis,  Cobb's  battery,  and 
Byrnes'  battery  of  artillery. 

On  the  i /th  of  September,  1861,  General  Buckner,  with  some 
Tennessee  troops  and  the  Kentucky  regiments,  moved  to  Bowl 
ing  Green,  in  Kentucky,  and  occupied  it,  fortifying  it  and  fitting 
it  for  the  base  of  active  operations  of  the  Confederate  armies  in 
Kentucky,  which  it  became  for  some  months.  One  regiment  of 
infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery  was  thrown  forward  to  the 
bridge  on  Green  river,  under  command  of  Colonel  Hawes — the 
bridge,  shortly  after,  was  burned  by  the  Confederate  troops. 


6  First  Kentucky   Brigade. 

Capt.  John  Morgan,  a  few  days  subsequently  to  this,  reached 
this  command  with  one  hundred  men  from  the  interior  of  Ken 
tucky.     These  men  were  mounted,  to  serve  as  scouts ;  and  here 
commenced  that  career  which  afterwards  gained  for  their  fearless 
leader  a  continental  reputation  as  a  bold,  daring,  and  effective 
partisan  officer.     Few  men,  indeed,  with  means  so  limited,  and 
in  the  midst  of  movements  so  grand  and  stupendous  that  the 
career  of  general  officers  have  been  lost  sight  of,  have  won  such 
a  name  and  reputation.     Of  a  mild  and  unassuming  demeanor, 
gentle  and  affable  in  his  manners,  handsome  in  person,  and  pos 
sessed  of  all  that  polish  of  address  which  is  supposed  to  best 
qualify   men  for  the  drawing-room    and   parlor,   no   enterprise, 
however  dangerous,  no   reconnoissance,  however  tiresome  and 
wearying,  could  daunt  his  spirits  or  deter  him  from  his  purpose. 
For  months,  with  his  handful  of  men,  he  swept  the  northern 
bank   of   Green  river,  cutting  off  the  supplies  of  the  enemy, 
destroying  bridges  necessary  for  their  transportation,  capturing 
their  pickets,  and  harassing  their  flanks,  moving  with  a  celerity 
and  secrecy  which  defied  pursuit  or  detection.     No  commander 
of  a  detached  post  or  guard  of  the  enemy  could  flatter  himself 
that  distance  from  Bowling  Green  or  disagreeableness  of  weather 
could  protect  him  from  a  visit  from  Morgan.     He  was  liable  to  be 
called  upon  at  any  hour,  in  any  weather,  or  at  any  point  beyond 
the  intrenched  camps  of  the  Federal  army.     The  earth  might 
be  soaked  with  rain,  which  for  days  had  been  falling,  the  roads 
might  be  impassable,  the    Green  and  Barren  rivers  with  their 
tributaries  might  be  swollen  far  beyond  their  banks,  but  over 
that  earth  and  across  those  rivers,  when  least  expected,  came 
Morgan  as  with  the  swoop  of  an  eagle ;  and,  after  destroying 
the  munitions  of  the  enemy,  or  capturing  his  guards,  was  away 
a^-ain,  leaving  behind  him  a  polite   note  intimating  he  would 
call  again  soon,  or  perhaps  telegraphing  a  dispatch  to  the  near 
est  Federal  commander,  giving  him  full  and  precise  particulars 
of  the  movements  he  had  just  made,  and  most  provoking  details 
of  the  damage  he  had  just  committed.     Long  after  the  Confed 
erate  army  had  retired  from  Kentucky,  when  the  entire  State 
was  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  Northern  armies,  many  a 
Southern  sympathizer  found  immunity  and  protection  from  mal 
treatment  and   outrage  by  the  significant  threat  that  Morgan 


First   Kentucky   Brigade.  7 

would  visit  that  neighborhood  soon.  And,  indeed,  during  the 
disastrous  retreat  from  Nashville,  the  tireless  partisan,  passing 
through  Eastern  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  far  in  the  rear  of  the 
Federal  army,  fell  upon  their  train  at  Gallatin,  Tennessee,  and 
lit  up  the  spirits  of  the  despondent  Tennesseans  by  one  of  his 
bold  and  daring  strokes.  Even  when  the  Southern  army  had 
passed  the  Tennessee  river,  when  every  available  soldier  of  the 
South  was  supposed  to  be  at  Corinth  to  meet  the  overwhelming 
hosts  of  the  invader,  Morgan,  gathering  three  or  four  hundred 
of  his  men,  recrossed  the  river,  fell  upon  the  railroad  train  at 
Athens,  Alabama,  captured  two  hundred  and  eighty  prisoners, 
and  destroyed  the  cars.  Ambushed,  defeated,  cut  to  pieces,  and 
routed  by  greatly  superior  forces  a  few  days  afterwards,  hardly 
had  the  news  reached  Louisville  of  his  disaster,  when;  collecting 
two  hundred  of  his  scattered  command,  he  fell  like  a  thunder 
bolt  upon  the  railroad  train  at  Cave  City,  in  the  centre  of  Ken 
tucky,  capturing  many  prisoners,  thousands  of  dollars  in  money, 
and  destroying  forty-three  baggage  cars  laden  with  the  enemy's 
stores. 

Early  in  November,  1861,  the  Hon.  John  C.  Breckinridge 
arrived  at  Bowling  Green,  when  he  resigned  his  seat  as  Senator 
from  Kentucky,  in  the  Federal  Congress,  and  was  immediately 
commissioned  as  Brigadier  General,  and  assigned  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  Kentucky  Brigade,  General  Buckner  assuming 
command  of  a  division  of  which  the  Kentucky  Brigade  was  a 
component  part.  He  assumed  command  on  the  i6th  of  Novem 
ber — having  as  his  Chief  of  Staff  and  A.  A.  General,  Captain 
George  B.  Hodge,  and  Aid-de-Camp,  Thomas  T.  Hawkin.  The 
brigade  was  ordered  to  Oakland  Station,  on  the  Louisville  and 
Naslwille  Railroad,  where,  in  conection  with  Hindman's  brigade, 
it  remained  in  observation  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Green  river,  who  was  known  to  be  in  great 
force  at  Munfordsville,  and  in  his  cantonments  extending  back 
towards  Elizabethtown,  and  was  supposed  to  be  only  waiting  the 
completion  of  the  Green  river  bridge,  which  he  was  repairing, 
to  advance  his  entire  column,  estimated  at  80,000  men,  on  Bowl 
ing  Green  and  Nashville.  Behind  the  curtain  of  the  brigades  of 
Hindman  and  Breckinridge,  Gen.  Johnston  was  rapidly  pushing 
on  the  fortifications  at  Bowling  Green  ;  and  by  the  latter  part  of 
January,  1862,  they  had  become  quite  formidable. 


8  First  Kentucky    Brigade. 

It  had,  however,  become  doubtful  whether  the  enemy  would 
attempt  the  passage  of  the  Green  river.  It  was  certain,  if  he 
did  so,  his  true  attack  would  be  developed  in  a  flank  movement, 
by  way  of  Glasgow  and  Scottsville,  on  Nashville,  while  there 
was  left  him  the  alternative  of  massing  his  troops  at  Paducah, 
then  in  his  possession,  and  availing  himself  of  his  enormous 
supplies  of  water  transportation,  of  moving  by  the  Tennessee 
and  Cumberland  rivers  on  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  by  a  suc 
cessful  attack  on  those  works,  turning  the  flank  of  the  Confeder 
ate  forces  at  Bowling  Green,  opening  the  way  to  Nashville,  and 
possibly  enabling  him  to  interpose  between  the  Southern  armies 
and  their  base  of  operations.  To  guard  against  this  latter  move 
ment,  the  divisions  of  Generals  Floyd  and  Pillow,  and  a  portion 
of  the  division  of  General  Buckner,  were,  about  the  2Oth  of  Jan 
uary,  moved,  by  way  of  Clarksville,  to  the  support  of  Donelson. 
With  this  force  marched  the  2d  Kentucky  Regiment,  which, 
after  covering  itself  with  imperishable  glory  in  the  terrible  com 
bat,  of  three  days,  at  Fort  Donelson,  was,  on  the  i6th  of  Feb 
ruary,  surrendered  to  the  enemy ;  and  passing  into  captivity, 
ceased  to  participate  in  the  campaign  of  the  spring  and  summer 
of  1862. 

By  the  loth  of  February,  definite  information  had  been  ob 
tained  by  General  Johnston  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 
He  was  convinced  that  an  overpowering  force  had  moved  upon 
Forts  Donelson  and  Henry;  that  a  heavy  column  was  pursuing 
Crittenden,  after  defeating  and  routing  him  at  Fishing  Creek, 
threatening  Nashville  on  that  flank;  and  that  a  force  almost  as 
large  as  the  Confederate  force  at  Bowling  Green  was  held  in 
hand  by  the  enemy,  to  be  poured  across  Green  river  and  attack 
him  in  front,  while  the  two  bodies  on  his  right  and  left  united 
at  Nashville  and  closed  upon  his  rear.  With  the  promptness  and 
decision  which  characterized  his  high  and  serenely  courageous 
mind,  General  Johnston  determined  to  retire  from  Bowling  Green 
and  fall  back  on  Nashville,  where,  uniting  with  the  garrisons  and 
troops  in  defense  of  Forts  Donelson  and  Henry,  should  those 
places  be  found  to  be  untenable,  he  could  hold  the  divisions  of 
the  Federal  General,  Grant,  in  check,  while  he  went  to  the  assist 
ance  of  Crittenden,  and  crushed  the  Federal  column  advancing 
by  way  of  Cumberland  Gap.  The  fortifications  of  Bowling 


First  Kentucky   Brigade.  9 

Green  were  with  every  expedition  dismantled ;  the  government 
stores  shipped  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  Nashville,  and  on  the 
pth  of  February  an  order  was  issued  by  Major  General  Hardee, 
commanding  the  central  army  of  Kentucky,  directing  Generals 
Hindman  and  Breckinridge  to  repass  the  Barren  river  and  be 
in  Bowling  Green  by  the  night  of  the  loth.  The  admirable  dis 
cipline  which  General  Breckinridge  had  exercised  and  maintained 
in  and  over  his  command,  enabled  him  to  comply  promptly  with 
the  order,  without  confusion  and  with  no  loss  of  stores,  equip 
ments,  or  supplies.  His  brigade,  marching  at  8  o'clock  A.  M., 
on  the  loth  passed  Barren  river  bridge  at  3  P.  M.,  and  bivouacked 
three  miles  south  of  Bowling  Green  for  the  night.  Hindman, 
being  farther  in  the  rear,  lost  a  few  of  his  scouts,  and  had  hardly 
time  to  blow  up  the  bridges  over  Barren  river  when  the  head 
of  the  enemy's  column  came  into  sight,  and  immediately  com 
menced  shelling  the  railroad  depot  and  that  portion  of  the  track 
on  which  were  lying  the  freight  trains.  These  they  succeeded 
in  firing  finally. 

When  the  retreat  of  the  army  commenced,  Breckinridge's  bri 
gade  was  constituted  the  rear  guard — General  Hardee,  however, 
being  still  in  rear  with  the  cavalry  and  light  artillery.  Notwith 
standing  the  fact  that  cold,  freezing,  and  intensely  inclement 
weather  set  in ;  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  evidences  of  the 
demoralization  which  a  retreat  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy 
always  produces  were  too  apparent  in  many  divisions  of  the 
army,  yet  the  soldierly  manner  in  which  Breckinridge  brought 
off  his  brigade,  losing  not  a  straggler  from  the  ranks,  not  a 
musket  or  a  tent,  speaks  more  creditably  for  him  and  for  them 
than  the  recital  perhaps  of  their  deeds  of  daring  in  the  field 
could  do. 

In  truth,  history  records  no  sadder  tale  than  the  retreat  of  the 
Kentuckians  from  their  native  State.  For  the  rest  of  the  army 
there  was  yet  hope.  Far  to  the  South  lay  their  homesteads, 
and  their  families  rested  still  in  security.  Between  those  home 
steads  and  those  families  and  the  advancing  foe  were  innumera 
ble  places  where  battle  might  be  successfully  offered,  or  where 
at  least  the  sons  of  the  South  might  rear  a  rampart  of  their 
bodies  over  which  the  invader  could  not  pass.  Time,  political 
complications,  mutations  of  fortune,  to  which  the  most  success- 


io  First  Kentucky   Brigade. 

ful  commanders  are  liable,  might  at  any  time  transform  the 
triumph  of  the  Northmen  into  disaster  and  defeat.  Months 
must  elapse  before  the  advancing  columns  of  the  enemy  could 
reach  the  South,  and  ere  that  time  arrived  pestilence  and  mala 
rious  disease  would,  amid  the  fens  and  swamps  of  the  gulf  States, 
be  crouching  in  their  lair,  ready  to  issue  forth  and  grapple  with 
the  rash  intruders  from  a  more  salubrious  clime.  But  for  the 
Kentuckians  all  was  apparently  lost.  Behind  their  retiring  regi 
ments  were  the  graves  of  their  fathers,  and  the  hearthstones 
about  which  clustered  every  happy  memory  of  their  childhood; 
there,  in  the  possession  of  the  invader,  were  the  rooftrees  be 
neath  which  were  gathered  wives  who,  with  a  wifely  smile  gleam 
ing  even  through  their  tears,  had  bidden  their  husbands  go  forth 
to  do  battle  for  the  right,  promising  to  greet  them  with  glad 
hearts  when  they  returned  in  the  hour  of  triumph ;  there  were 
the  fair  faces  which  for  many  in  that  band  had  made  the  star 
light  of  their  young  lives;  there  were  young  and  helpless  chil 
dren,  for  whom  the  future  promised  but  suffering,  poverty,  desti 
tution,  and  want ;  there,  too,  were  the  thousands  who  had  with 
anxious  and  waiting  hearts,  groaning  beneath  the  yoke  of  the 
oppressor,  counted  the  hours  until  the  footsteps  of  their  deliv 
erers  should  be  heard.  On  the  I3th  of  February  the  brigade 
crossed  the  line  between  Kentucky  and  Tennessee ;  a  night  in 
which  rain  and  sleet  fell  incessantly  was  succeeded  by  a  day  of 
intense  and  bitter  cold.  Everything  which  could  contribute  to 
crush  the  spirits  and  weaken  the  nerves  of  men,  seemed  to  have 
combined.  But  for  those  dauntless  hearts,  the  bitterness  of  sac 
rifice,  the  weakness  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  had  passed,  when, 
by  a  common  impulse,  the  General,  his  staff,  and  the  field  offi 
cers  dismounted,  and,  placing  themselves  on  foot  at  the  head  of 
the  column,  with  sad  and  solemn  countenances,  but  with  erect 
and  soldierly  bearing,  marched  for  hours  in  the  advance;  and 
then  was  observed,  for  the  first  time  in  that  brigade,  through 
every  grade  and  every  rank,  the  look  of  high  resolve  and  stern 
fortitude,  which,  amid  all  the  vicissitudes  of  its  fortunes  char 
acterized  the  appearance  of  its  members,  and  attracted  the  at 
tention  and  comment  of  observers  in  every  State  through  which 
it  passed.  Henceforth  for  them  petty  physical  discomforts,  in 
conveniences  of  position,  annoyances  of  inclement  weather, 


First  Kentucky   Brigade.  n 

scantiness  of  supplies,  rudeness  of  fare,  were  nothing;  they  felt 
that  they  could  not  pass  away  until  a  great  day  should  come 
which  they  looked  forward  to  with  unshaken  confidence,  and 
with  patient  watchfulness.  They  might  never  again  dispense 
in  their  loved  native  State  the  generous  hospitality  which  had 
become  renowned  throughout  the  continent;  what  remained 
to  them  of  life  might  be  passed  in  penury  and  in  exile. 
Their  countrymen  might  never  know  how  they  had  lived  or 
where  they  had  died;  venal  historians  might  even  teach  the 
rising  generation  to  brand  their  memories  with  the  stigma  of 
treason  and  shame,  but  a  day  was  yet  to  come  of  the  triumph 
of  which  they  felt  they  could  not  be  deprived;  days,  weeks, 
months  might  elapse,  they  could  bide  their  time.  State  after 
State  might  have  to  be  traversed,  great  rivers  might  have  to  be 
passed,  mountain  ranges  surmounted,  hunger  and  thirst  endured, 
but  the  day  and  the  hour  would  surely  come  when  with  serried 
ranks  they  should  meet  the  foe,  and  their  hearts  burning  with 
the  memory  of  inexpiable  wrongs,  should,  in  the  presence  of  the 
God  of  battles,  demand  and  exact  a  terrible  reckoning  for  all 
they  had  endured  and  all  they  had  suffered. 

The  night  of  the  I4th  was  passed  at  Camp  Trousdale,  where 
summer  barracks,  which  had  been  erected  to  accommodate  the 
Tennessee  volunteers  stationed  there  for  instruction,  afforded 
but  inadequate  protection  against  the  bitter  cold  of  the  night. 
These  were  the  next  night  burned  by  the  cavalry  which  covered 
the  retreat,  and  afforded  to  the  people  of  Tennessee  the  first 
evidence  that  their  State  was  about  to  be  invaded.  The  spirits 
of  the  army,  however,  were  cheered  by  the  accounts  which  Gen 
eral  Johnston,  with  thoughtful  care,  forwarded,  by  means  of 
couriers,  daily,  of  the  successful  resistance  of  Fort  Donelson. 
The  entire  army  bivouacked  in  line  of  battle  on  the  night  of  the 
1 5th  at  the  junction  of  the  Gallatin  and  Nashville,  and  Bowling 
Green  and  Nashville  roads,  about  ten  miles  from  Nashville.  It 
was  confidently  believed  that  by  means  of  boats,  a  large  portion 
of  the  force  would  be  sent  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Donelson.  But 
on  the  morning  of  the  i6th,  it  began  to  be  whispered,  first, 
among  the  higher  officers,  spreading  thence,  in  spite  of  every 
precaution,  to  the  ranks,  that  Donelson  not  only  had  fallen,  but 
that  the  divisions  of  Floyd,  Pillow,  and  Buckner  had  been  sur- 


12  Fitst   Kentucky   Brigade. 

rendered  as  prisoners  of  war.  Rumors  of  the  wildest  nature  flew 
from  regiment  to  regiment,  the  enemy  were  coming  upon  trans 
ports  to  Nashville — the  bridges  were  being  destroyed — the  forts 
below  the  city  were  already  surrendered — the  retreat  of  the  army 
was  cut  off — and  as  if  to  confirm  the  rumors,  during  the  entire 
morning,  the  explosion  of  heavy  artillery  was  heard  in  front 
and  in  the  direction  of  Nashville.  This  proved  to  be  caused  by 
the  firing  of  guns  at  Fort  Zollicoffer,  which,  after  having  being 
heavily  charged,  were,  with  their  muzzles  in  the  earth,  exploded 
to  destroy  them.  At  4  P.  M.,  on  the  i6th,  the  head  of  the 
brigade  came  in  sight  of  the  bridges  at  Nashville,  across  which, 
in  dense  masses,  were  streaming  infantry,  artillery,  and  transpor 
tation  and  provision  trains,  but  still  with  a  regularity  and  order 
which  gave  promise  of  renewed  activity  and  efficiency  in  the 
future.  At  nightfall  General  Johnston,  who  had  established  his 
head-quarters  at  Edgefield,  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Cum 
berland,  saw  the  last  of  his  wearied  and  tired  columns  defile 
across  and  safely  establish  themselves  beyond. 

Amid  all  the  disasters  and  gloom  of  the  retreat,  the  great 
captain  had  abundant  cause  of  self-gratulation  and  confidence. 
He  had  reached  Kentucky  in  October  of  the  previous  year  to 
find  the  plan  of  occupation  of  the  State  to  be  upon  three  par 
allel  lines  of  invasion,  and  yet  all  dependent  upon  a  single  point 
as  the  base  of  operations  and  the  depot  of  supplies.  Vicious 
and  faulty  as  these  unforeseen  events  proved  it  to  have  been,  he 
had  made  the  most  of  the  situation.  He  found  an  army  of 
hastily  levied  volunteers,  badly  equipped,  miserably  clad,  fully 
one  half  stricken  down  by  disease,  destitute  of  transportation, 
and  with  barely  the  shadow  of  discipline.  Never  able  to  wield 
more  than  eighteen  thousand  fighting  men  at  and  around  Bowl 
ing  Green,  with  these  men  he  held  at  bay  a  force  of  the  enemy 
of  fully  one  hundred  thousand  men.  The  Southern  States  were 
protected  from  invasion.  Time  was  obtained  to  drill  and  consol 
idate  the  volunteer  force.  The  army  was  sustained  in  the  fertile 
and  abundant  grain-producing  regions  of  Kentucky,  transporta 
tion  gathered  of  the  most  efficient  character,  immense  supplies  of 
beef,  corn,  and  pork  collected  from  the  surrounding  country  and 
safely  garnered  in  depots  further  South  for  the  coming  summer 
campaign ;  and  when,  finally,  the  defeat  of  Crittenden,  and  the 


First  Kentucky   Brigade.  13 

overwhelming  attack  on  Donelson  had  apparently  cut  off  his 
retreat,  leaving  him  eighty  miles  in  front  of  his  base  of  opera 
tions  and  his  magazines,  he  had  with  promptness,  unrivaled 
military  sagacity,  and  yet  with  mingled  caution  and  celerity, 
dismantled  his  fortifications  at  Bowling  Green,  transmitted  his 
heavy  artillery  and  ammunition  to  Nashville,  and  extricated  his 
entire  army  from  the  jaws  of  almost  certain  annihilation  and 
capture.  The  enemy  came  from  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson, 
in  which  he  had  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  a  force  equal  to  the 
entire  garrison  of  the  place,  to  see,  to  his  astonishment,  an  army 
in  his  front  undismayed,  and  held  in  hand  by  a  General  who 
had  just  displayed  to  the  world  military  qualities  of  the  highest 
order,  and  a  genius  for  strategy  which  seemed  to  anticipate  all 
his  plans  and  as  readily  to  baffle  them.  In  the  capture  of  the 
army  defending  Donelson  the  Confederacy  lost,  as  prisoners  of 
war,  the  gallant  and  idolized  Buckner,  Hanson  and  his  splendid 
regiment,  and  many  Kentuckians  connected  with  the  staff  of 
those  officers. 

The  night  of  February  i6th  found  the  army  encamped  safely 
upon  the  Murfreesboro  and  Nashville  road ;  but  it  found  the  city 
of  Nashville  in  a  condition  of  wild  and  frantic  anarchy. 

The  Capital  of  Tennessee,  Nashville,  contained,  ordinarily,  a 
population  of  about  30,000  souls.  The  revolution  had  made  it 
the  rendezvous  of  thousands  fleeing  from  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
and  Western  Virginia.  So  great  was  the  throng  of  strangers, 
that  lodging  could  be  with  difficulty  procured  at  any  price. 
Every  house  was  filled  and  overflowing,  boarding  was  held  at 
fabulous  prices,  and  private  citizens  whose  wealth  would,  under 
most  circumstances,  have  secured  their  domesticity  from  intru 
sion,  were,  perforce,  compelled  to  accommodate  and  shelter 
strangers  whom  the  misfortunes  of  exile  and  persecution  had 
thrown  upon  the  world.  Many  business  houses  and  warehouses 
had  been  transformed  into  hospitals  for  the  sick  soldiery  of  the 
forces  in  Kentucky.  So  great  was  the  influx  of  invalids  that  in 
many  private  families  as  many  as  three  and  four  of  the  sick  were 
to  be  found.  Here,  too,  were  brought  hundreds  of  artificers 
and  artisans,  the  government  having  established  manufactories 
of  various  kinds  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  army.  In  no  single 
city  of  the  Confederacy  was  to  be  found  so  large  and  so  varied 


14  First  Kentucky  Brigade. 

a  supply  of  all  those  articles  which  are  essential  to  the  mainte 
nance  of  a  large  and  well-appointed  army.  During  the  fall  and 
winter,  under  government  patronage  and  assistance,  many  thou 
sands  of  hogs  and  bullocks  had  been  slaughtered  and  packed. 
These  were  stored  in  the  city.  Immense  magazines  of  ammu 
nitions,  of  arms,  large  and  small,  of  ordnance  stores,  of  clothing, 
of  camp  equipage,  were  located  here.  Capacious  warehouses 
were  filled  with  rice,  flour,  sugar,  molasses,  and  coffee,  to  the 
value  of  many  millions  of  dollars.  The  Chief  Quarter-Master 
and  Commissary  were  accustomed  to  fill  at  once  the  requisitions 
of  the  armies  of  Kentucky  and  of  Missouri,  of  Texas  and  the 
Gulf.  It  may  be  safely  estimated  that,  at  the  fall  of  Donelson, 
Nashville  had  crowded  within  its  limits  not  less  than  sixty  thou 
sand  residents.  It  never  seems  to  have  occurred  to  the  citizens, 
or,  indeed,  the  government,  that  Nashville  was  really  in  danger. 
A  few  unimportant  and  valueless  earth-works  had  been  thrown 
up,  looking  to  its  defense,  but  no  systematic  plan  of  fortification 
had  been  fixed  upon  or  followed  up ;  nothing  but  the  situation 
of  Fort  Donelson,  on  the  State  line,  prevented  the  enemy's  gun 
boats,  or  even  his  unarmed  transports,  from  coming  up  to  the 
city  and  mooring  at  its  wharves. 

On  Sunday  morning,  as  the  citizens  were  summoned  by  the 
church  bells  to  the  various  houses  of  worship  in  the  city,  con 
gratulations  were  joyously  exchanged  upon  the  successful  de 
fense  of  Fort  Donelson.  Ere  the  hours  of  morning  devotion 
had  expired,  the  news  of  its  fall  came  like  a  clap  of  thunder  in 
a  summer  sky.  The  most  excited  and  improbable  stories  were 
circulated,  yet  no  exaggeration,  no  improbability,  seemed  too 
monstrous  to  command  credence.  Donelson  was  more  than  an 
hundred  miles  down  the  river,  yet  it  was  insisted  that  the  ene 
my's  boats  were  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city.  The  passage  of 
the  army  across  the  Cumberland  and  through  the  town  added 
to  the  general  panic  and  confusion.  Consternation,  terror,  and 
shameful  cowardice  seemed  to  have  seized  alike  upon  the  un 
thinking  multitude  and  the  officers  who  were  expected  to  evince 
fortitude  and  manliness ;  and  now  commenced  a  wild  and  frantic 
struggle  for  escape.  Thousands  who  had  never  borne  arms, 
who  were,  by  all  the  laws  of  civilized  warfare,  exempt  from  the 
penalties  of  hostilities,  were  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 


First  Kentucky   Brigade.  15 

the  safety  of  their  lives  depended  upon  escaping  from  the 
doomed  Capital.  On  all  the  railroads  from  the  city  trains  were 
hourly  run,  bearing  fugitives  a  few  miles  into  the  interior.  The 
country  roads  were  thronged  with  vehicles  of  every  character 
and  description;  the  hire  of  hacks  rose  to  ten,  twenty,  fifty, 
even  an  hundred  dollars  for  two  or  three  hours'  use.  Night 
brought  no  cessation  of  the  tumult.  It  rained  in  torrents,  but 
all  through  the  night  might  be  seen  carriages,  wagons,  drays, 
and  tumbrils  crowded  with  affrighted  men  and  their  families. 
Tender  and  delicate  women,  feeble  and  carefully  nurtured  chil 
dren,  were  to  be  found,  exposed  to  the  inclemencies  of  the 
weather,  in  open  carts  and  wagons,  abandoning  luxurious  and 
costly  houses  for  the  precarious  sustenance  of  doubtful  and  un 
certain  charity  in  their  flights.  Nor  was  the  disgraceful  panic 
confined  to  non-combatants  or  timid  citizens.  Men  who  had 
gained  high  reputation  for  courage  and  presence  of  mind  seemed 
to  have  ignored  every  sentiment  of  manliness  in  their  indecent 
haste  to  secure  safety;  nay,  some  who  were  high  in  military 
position,  whose  province  and  whose  duty  it  was,  peculiarly  and 
particularly,  to  guard  public  property  and  protect  government 
stores,  used  their  official  position  to  obtain  trains  of  cars  upon 
which  were  packed  their  household  furniture,  their  carriages, 
their  horses,  and  their  private  effects ;  and  having  effected  this, 
they  made  haste  to  be  gone. 

Troops  were  left  in  the  city  by  order  of  Gen.  Johnston,  but 
the  mob  spirit  rose  triumphant.  For  many  days  the  store 
houses  of  the  government  stood  open  and  abandoned  by  their 
proper  custodians.  Every  one  was  at  liberty  to  help  himself 
to  what  he  desired ;  and  it  may  well  be  supposed  that  the  thou 
sands  who  crowded  the  streets  were  not  slow  to  avail  them 
selves  of  the  privilege.  Not  only  were  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars'  worth  of  provisions  carried  away  and  sequestered,  but 
the  very  streets  and  highways  were  strewn  with  bales  and  pack 
ages  of  raiment  and  clothing  hastily  taken  away  and  as  reck 
lessly  abandoned.  It  was  currently  estimated  that  public  prop 
erty  to  the  value  of  at  least  five  millions  of  dollars  was  dissipated 
and  destroyed  in  a  few  hours.  There  were  not  wanting,  how 
ever,  noble  and  brilliant  examples  of  firmness,  courage,  and  fore 
thought.  On  Tuesday  following  the  surrender,  the  wagonmas- 


1 6  First   Kentucky    Brigade. 

ter  of  the  2d  Kentucky;  Regiment  reached  the  head-quarters  of 
the  Kentucky  Brigade  with  fourteen  empty  wagons  with  which 
he  had  escaped  from  Fort  Donelson.  These  the  gallant  Breck- 
inridge  loaded  with  supplies  of  subsistence  and  clothing,  which 
were  the  means  of  comfort  to  his  command  months  after  the 
abandonment  of  Nashville.  Even  when  the  enemy  was  hourly 
>  expected  in  the  city  he  might  have  been  seen  on  the  northern 
bank  of  the  Cumberland  superintending  the  transit  of  herds  of 
well  kept  cattle  brought  from  Kentucky,  that  his  command 
might  be  furnished  with  fresh  rations  during  their  further  re 
treat. 

Slowly  and  steadily  the  army  fell  back  from  Nashville  until, 
on  the  22d  of  February,  it  reached  Murfreesboro.  Effecting 
then  a  junction  with  the  army  of  General  Crittenden,  which  had 
retreated  from  Fishing  Creek,  and  for  the  first  time  since  the 
departure  from  Bowling  Green,  General  Johnston  found  himself 
in  condition  to  offer  and  accept  battle  from  the  enemy. 

It  was  evident  to  the  great  man  who  commanded  the  depart 
ment  of  the  West  that  he  could  not  linger  in  Tennessee.  He  was 
doubtless  able  to  successfully  resist  the  force  under  Gen.  Buell 
which  had  now  occupied  Nashville,  but  it  was  well  known  that 
none  of  the  force  occupied  in  the  reduction  of  Donelson  had  as 
cended  the  river.  With  unlimited  supplies  of  water  transporta 
tion,  nothing  was  easier  than  for  them  to  pass  round  the  peninsula, 
and,  ascending  the  Tennessee  river,  land  a  force  in  his  rear  and 
place  him  in  the  same  dilemma  from  which  he  had  just  so  skill 
fully  extracted  his  army.  A  retreat  behind  the  Tennessee  was 
inevitable,  and  the  strategical  position  he  occupied  at  Murfrees 
boro  opened  to  him  three  routes.  He  might  pass  over  to  the 
turnpike  road  from  Nashville,  through  Columbia  and  Pulaski, 
parallel  with  the  railroad,  and  cross  at  Florence,  or,  throwing 
himself  into  the  mountain  passes  of  Eastern  Tennessee,  in  their 
wild  gorges  and  rugged  ravines,  he  might  defy  pursuit  and  re 
treat  upon  Chattanooga.  This,  however,  would  have  been  a 
virtual  abandonment  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  valley.  Still  a 
third  route  was  open.  Due  south  from  Murfreesboro  ran  a 
road  through  a  comparatively  unfrequented  country,  passing 
directly  through  Huntsville  to  Decatur,  on  the  southern  bank 
of  the  Tennessee  river.  While  this  route  offered  the  advantage 


First   Kentucky    Brigade.  17 

of  a  middle  course  between  the  two  great  lines  of  macadamized 
roads  east  and  west  of  him,  enabling  him,  in  case  of  necessity, 
to  pass  over  to  either;  it  was  not  without  objections.  Lying, 
for  the  most  part,  through  cultivated  and  deep  bottoms,  on  the 
edge  of  Northern  Alabama,  it  rises  abruptly  to  cross  the  great 
plateau  thrown  out  from  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  here  nearly 
a  thousand  feet  above  the  surrounding  country,  and  full  forty 
miles  in  width,  covered  with  dense  forests  of  timber,  yet  barren 
and  sterile  in  soil,  and  wholly  destitute  of  supplies  for  either 
man  or  beast.  Two  weeks  of  unintermitting  rain  had  softened 
the  earth  until  the  surface  resembled  avast  swamp;  but  along 
this  route  the  Commander-in-Chief  determined  to  pass;  and, 
after  occupying  a  week  in  reorganizing  his  army,  a  cloud  of 
cavalry,  consisting  of  Morgan's  Squadron,  the  1st  Kentucky 
Cavalry,  the  Texas  Rangers,  Wirt  Adams',  Scott's,  and  Forrest's 
regim'ents  were  thrown  out  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy,  with 
orders,  as  they  fell  back,  to  burn  the  cotton  and  destroy  the 
bridges ;  and  the  further  retreat  thus  commenced. 

History  records  no  example  of  a  retreat  conducted  with  such 
success  under  such  adverse  circumstances.  Rain  continued  to 
fall  almost  without  intermission ;  it  was  spring,  the  season  most 
unpropitious  for  transits  over  country  roads,  and  the  passage  of 
such  numbers  of  horses  and  wagons,  rendered  the  route  literally 
a  river  of  liquid  mud.  For  miles  at  times  the  wagons  would  be 
submerged  in  ooze  and  mire  up  to  the  hubs  of  their  wheels, 
while  the  saturated  condition  of  the  earth  rendered  comfortable 
encampments  impossible.  The  ascent  of  the  plateau,  although 
only  about  two  miles  of  distance,  consumed  a  day  for  each  bri 
gade,  and  time  was  everything  to  men  in  their  condition;  yet 
steadily,  earnestly,  hopefully,  they  toiled  on  until,  on  the  loth 
of  March,  the  head  of  the  army  had  reached  a  point  within 
three  miles  of  Decatur,  but  with  the  Tennessee  swollen  far  be 
yond  its  banks,  flooding  the  country  for  miles  in  every  direction, 
and  sweeping  with  resistless  force  over  the  roads  and  fords. 
Happily,  at  this  point,  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad 
crossed  the  Tennessee ;  and,  as  a  precaution  against  its  freshets, 
the  railroad  company  had  constructed  an  embankment  fifty  feet 
in  height  and  two  miles  in  length  on  which  were  laid  their  rails; 
2 


1 8  First  Kentucky   Brigade. 

this  embankment  was  still  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  surround 
ing  waters,  and  reached  to  the  terminus  of  the  bridge.  Its  nar 
row  width  of  seven  feet  precluded  the  possibility  of  anything 
like  orderly  movement ;  but  over  it  were  passed  the  infantry  and 
cavalry  without  cessation  either  day  or  night.  The  artillery  and 
baggage -wagons  were  placed  on  platform  cars,  and  at  a  given 
signal  the  track  was  cleared  while  they  were  run  to  and  over 
the  bridge.  Patience,  perseverance,  and  indomitable  will  finally 
accomplished  the  work,  and  on  the  i6th  the  Kentucky  Brigade, 
bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  army,  marched  through  Decatur. 
A  month  had  elapsed  since  the  fall  of  Donelson,  but  the  army 
was  at  last  behind  the  Tennessee,  and  all  was  not  yet  lost.  Still 
the  danger  was  not  yet  over.  The  enemy  commanded  the  river 
and  might,  by  vigorous  movements,  prevent  the  junction  of  the 
army  of  Central  Kentucky  with  that  of  General  Beauregard, 
which  had  fallen  back  from  Columbus,  in  Kentucky,  and  was 
now  endeavoring  to  unite  with  that  under  General  Johnston.  In 
truth,  it  seemed  that,  if  the  enemy  was  prompt  and  vigorous  in 
his  movements,  this  would  be  impossible.  The  Memphis  and 
Charleston  Railroad  runs  nearly  due  east  and  west,  pursuing  for 
ninety  miles  an  almost  parallel  course  with  the  Tennessee  river 
— never  diverging  from  it  more  than  twenty  miles,  and  in  many 
places  approaching  to  within  eight  or  ten.  Numerous  streams 
which  drain  the  country  and  empty  into  the  main  river  were 
crossed  by  it,  and  on  the  margins  of  these  streams  are  almost 
invariably  found  swamps  requiring  heavy  trestle-work  to  support 
the  rail.  A  little  celerity  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  might  at 
any  hour  enable  him  to  destroy  a  section  of  this  trestle-work, 
and  thus  cut  off  the  communication.  To  transport  the  army  by 
the  country  roads  was  impossible,  the  torrent-like  rains  which 
had  impeded  the  progress  of  the  army  through  Tennessee  had 
continued  to  fall  after  the  passage  of  the  river.  In  many  places 
the  country  was  covered  with  sheets  of  water  too  deep  to  be 
forded,  while  the  roads,  not  thus  submerged,  were  impassable 
for  horsemen.  It  was  difficult  for  the  various  corps  to  pass  far 
enough  from  Decatur  to  find  encampments.  Within  a  mile  of 
the  town  might  be  counted  scores  of  wagons,  on  the  various 
roads,  sunk  to  their  beds  in  mire,  and  which  the  quagmire  of 
oozing  earth  around  them  prevented  the  possibility  of  unload- 


First   Kentucky   Brigade.  19 

ing.  Hindman's  brigade  of  Arkansas  troops  was  thrown  for 
ward  by  rail  to  Courtland  immediately.  Crittenden  was  pushed 
beyond  him  to  luka,  and  on  the  2ist  the  Kentucky  Brigade, 
under  General  Breckinridge,  was  dispatched,  with  its  field  pieces, 
ammunition,  and  baggage,  to  Burnsville,  within  fifteen  miles  of 
Corinth,  by  cars,  while  the  horses  and  wagons  were  sent  to 
struggle  through  as  best  they  could  on  the  dirt  roads. 

The  remainder  of  the  army  was  gradually  pushed  on  to  Cor 
inth,  meeting  there  the  army  of  Beauregard,  and  confidence  and 
hope  were  once  more  restored.  The  danger  of  an  immediate 
surprise  was  over;  but  the  greatest  vigilance  was  necessary  to 
meet  and  prevent  the  enemy  from  landing  in  force,  and,  by 
strength  of  numbers,  accomplishing  that  which  he  had  failed 
to  do  by  celerity  of  movement.  For  several  days  his  gunboats 
swept  up  and  down  the  Tennessee  river,  shelling  the  banks,  and 
apparently  seeking  a  favorable  point  to  disembark  from  his 
transports.  The  little  village  of  Eastport,  situated  some  eight 
miles  from  luka,  it  was  supposed,  offered  him  peculiar  advan 
tages,  and  preparations  were  made  to  resist  him  by  throwing  up 
earth-works,  and  placing  in  position  two  thirty-two  pounders. 
He  continued,  however,  to  make  feints,  landing  a  few  regiments 
at  various  points,  but  almost  immediately  withdrawing  them, 
until  information  was  received,  which  convinced  the  Command- 
er-in-Chief  that  the  attack  of  the  enemy  would  be  on  Corinth, 
where  is  located  the  junction  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad 
with  the  Charleston  and  Memphis  Railroad.  Meantime,  the 
greater  portion  of  the  division  of  General  Crittenden,  composed 
of  Statham's  brigade  and  Bowen's  brigade,  was  sent  forward  to 
Burnsville,  and  ordered  to  report  to  General  Breckinridge.  Hind 
man's  force  had  passed  on  to  Corinth,  and  was  now  incorporated 
with,  and  formed  part  of,  the  corps  d'armee  of  General  Hardee. 
Scouts  were  kept  constantly  reconnoitering  the  roads  leading  to 
the  Tennessee  river,  and  vigorous  efforts  made  to  bring  the  army 
to  a  high  state  of  efficiency  in  discipline  and  equipment.  The 
enemy,  it  was  now  known,  had  landed  seven  divisions  of  his 
army,  amounting  to  about  forty-two  thousand  men,  at  a  point 
on  the  Tennessee  river,  near  Pittsburg  Landing,  and  was  now 
encamped  in  position,  his  right  resting  on  a  small  stream  called 
Owl  Creek,  and  his  left  on  Lick  Creek,  the  streams  running 


23  First  Kentucky   Brigade. 

nearly  parallel  to  each  other,  four  miles  apart.  To  meet  and 
crush  this  force,  or  cripple  it  before  General  Buell,  with  his 
army,  which  was  advancing  through  Tennessee,  could  reinforce 
it,  was  the  object  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  preparatory  to 
which,  his  army  was  re-organized  and  cast  into  four  divisions  or 
corps. 

The  first,  under  General  Bragg,  consisted  of  9,422  men. 

The  second,  under  General  Polk,  numbered  4,855  men. 

The  third  corps  was  commanded  by  General  Hardee,  15,524 
men. 

And  the  reserve,  consisting  of  the  Kentucky  Brigade,  Stat- 
ham's  brigade,  and  Bowen's  brigade,  amounted,  according  to  the 
returns  in  the  Adjutant  General's  office,  on  the  night  of  April 
the  5th,  to  6,894  men,  commanded  by  Brigadier  General  John  C. 
Breckinridge.  The  cavalry  amounted  to  three  thousand. 

Two  roads,  the  one  from  Corinth,  the  other  from  Burnsville, 
lead  to  Pittsburg  Landing ;  they  unite  on  a  ridge  four  miles  from 
the  river,  and  thence  the  road,  gradually  descending  a  long  slope, 
leads  to  the  Tennessee,  along  a  spur  of  the  hilly  range,  with 
lateral  slopes,  to  Lick  Creek  on  the  one  side  and  Owl  Creek  on 
the  other.  The  whole  tongue  of  land  between  these  streams 
is  densely  wooded  with  unbroken  forests ;  and  as  it  approaches 
within  a  mile  of  the  river,  is  covered,  in  addition,  with  a  thick 
mass  of  undergrowth  sweeping  to  its  banks.  On  this  unfavor 
able  ground  the  battle  was  to  be  fought.  On  the  morning  of 
April  the  4th,  at  3  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  reserve  corps  marched 
from  Burnsville,  by  way  of  Farmington  and  Monterey,  expect 
ing  to  reach  the  point  of  junction  of  the  two  roads  that  night. 
A  heavy  rain  storm,  however,  obstructed  its  progress,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  other  divisions  of  the  army,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
night  of  the  5th  of  April  that  it  reached  the  junction.  Rations 
had  been  provided  for  three  days,  but  no  tents  and  no  baggage 
were  taken — the  want  of  which  added  greatly  to  the  discomfort 
of  the  commands,  and  rendered  many  unfit  for  duty.  The  delay 
and  the  tired  condition  of  the  troops  on  the  night  of  the  5th 
caused  a  difference  of  opinion  to  prevail  at  the  council  of  war 
as  to  the  propriety  of  attacking;  but  General  Johnston  deter 
mined  to  proceed  The  other  divisions  had,  on  the  night  of  the 
5th,  reached  the  positions  assigned  them,  and  were  posted  thus: 


First  Kentucky   Brigade.  21 

the  third  corps  formed  the  first  line  of  battle,  its  right  resting  on 
Lick  Creek  and  its  left  on  Owl  Creek,  and  bivouacked  in  order 
of  battle  within  half  a  mile  of  the  enemy,  who  seems  to  have 
been  unconscious  of  the  blow  about  to  be  struck.     In  rear  of 
that  the  first  corps,  under  General  Bragg,  bivouacked  in  order  of 
battle  a  quarter  of  a  mile   distant.     The  second  corps,   under 
General  Polk,  was  massed  in  column  of  brigades  on  the  road 
from    Corinth,    immediately  in   rear   of   the   junction   with    the 
Monterey  road,  and  had  orders  to  move  up  and  form  in  line  of 
battle  as  soon  as  the  troops  in  advance  had  moved  on  sufficient 
ly,  while  the   reserve  corps,   under   General   Breckinridge,  was 
massed    in   column    of   brigades    on    the    Monterey   road,  with 
orders  to  move  when  General  Folk's  corps  had  passed,  and  hold 
itself  subject  to  the  contingencies  of  the  day.     At  5  o'clock,  A. 
M.,  on  the  morning  of  April  6th,  General  Hardee  drove  in  the 
pickets  of    the  enemy,  and  the  terrible  battle  of   Shiloh  com 
menced.      Steadily  and    irresistibly  he    swept    on,   driving   the 
enemy  before  him,  until   the  camps  were   reached,   where   the 
resistance   became  most  desperate.     The  second  line  of  battle, 
under  General  Bragg,  had  by  this  time  been  brought  up  and 
intermingled  with  the  first  line,  and  the  central  advanced  camp 
of   the  enemy  was  abandoned  by  him  only,  however,  that  he 
might  make  the  more  stubborn  resistance  behind  it  and  in  front 
of  the  others.     Observing  an  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  flank  on 
the  extreme  left,  General  Beauregard  sent  orders  to  detach  the 
Kentucky  Brigade,  and  send  it  to  that  point.     This  was  done — 
the  command  now  devolving  upon  Colonel   Robt.   P.  Trabue, 
Colonel  of  the  4th  Kentucky  and  senior  Colonel  of  the  brigade. 
During  the  whole  of  that  bloody  day,  from  9  o'clock,  when  it 
became  engaged,  it  maintained  the  reputation  of  its  native  State, 
and  slowly  but  surely  pushed  back  the  force  opposed  to  it.     It 
never  gave  way  or  was  broken,  though  terribly  cut  to  pieces ; 
it  never  charged  that  it  did  not  break  the  ranks  of  the  army ; 
and  it  was  found,  when  the  action  closed  in  the  evening,  after 
ten  hours  of  continuous  fighting,  in  the  front  rank  of  the  army. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  refer  more  particularly  to  its  movements 
as  we  progress.     Owing  to  the  dense  mass  of  the  undergrowth 
the  troops  were  brought  in  close  proximity  to  each  other,  and 
the  firing  was  consequently  destructive,  murderous,  and  deadly. 


22  First   Kentucky   Brigade. 

Two  o'clock  had  arrived ;  the  whole  army  was  and  had  been 
engaged  for  hours,  with  the  exception  of  Bowen's  and  Statham's 
brigades  of  the  reserve  corps.  The  enemy  had  been  driven 
through,  and  from  half  of  his  camps,  but  refused  to  give  back 
further.  Giving  way  on  his  right  and  left  wings,  he  had  massed 
his  force  heavily  in  the  centre,  and  poured  an  almost  unintermit- 
ting  hail  of  fire,  murderous  beyond  description,  from  his  covert 
of  trees  and  bushes,  when  General  Breckinridge  was  ordered  up 
to  break  his  line.  Having  been  most  of  the  day  in  observation 
on  the  Hamburg  road,  marching  in  column  of  regiments,  the 
reserve  was  now  moved  by  the  left  flank,  until  opposite  the 
point  of  attack,  rapidly  deployed  in  line  of  battle,  Statham's  bri 
gade  forming  the  right  and  Bowen's  the  left.  The  long  slope 
of  the  ridge  was  here  abruptly  broken  by  a  succession  of  small 
hills  or  undulations  of  about  fifty  feet  in  height,  dividing  the 
rolling  country  from  the  river  bottom,  and  behind  the  crest  of 
the  last  of  these  the  enemy  was  concealed  ;  opposite  them,  at 
the  distance  of  seventy-five  yards,  was  another  long  swell  or 
hillock,  the  summit  of  which  it  was  necessary  to  attain  in  order 
to  open  fire  ;  and  to  this  elevation  the  reserve  moved,  in  order 
of  battle,  at  a  double-quick.  In  an  instant  the  opposing  height 
was  one  sheet  of  flame.  Battle's  Tennessee  regiment,  on  the 
extreme  right,  gallantly  maintained  itself,  pushing  forward  under 
a  withering  fire  and  establishing  itself  well  in  advance.  Little's 
Tennessee  regiment,  next  to  it,  delivered  its  fire  at  random  and 
inefficiently,  became  disordered,  and  retired  in  confusion  down 
the  slope.  Three  times  it  was  rallied  by  its  Lieutenant  Colonel, 
assisted  by  Colonel  T.  T.  Hawkins,  Aid-de-Camp  to  General 
Breckinridge,  and  by  the  Adjutant  General,  and  carried  up  the 
slope,  only  to  be  as  often  repulsed  and  driven  back — the  regiment 
of  the  enemy  opposed  to  it,  in  the  intervals,  directing  an  oblique 
fire  upon  Battle's  regiment,  now  contending  against  overwhelm 
ing  odds.  The  crisis  of  the  contest  had  come ;  there  were  no 
more  reserves,  and  General  Breckinridge  determined  to  charge. 
Calling  his  staff  around  him,  he  communicated  to  them  his  in 
tentions,  and  remarked  that  he,  with  them,  would  lead  it.  They 
were  all  Kentuckians,  and  although  it  was  not  their  privilege  to 
fight  that  day  with  the  Kentucky  Brigade,  they  were  men  who 
knew  how  to  die  bravely  among  strangers,  and  some,  at  least, 


First   Kentucky    Brigade.  23 

would  live  to  do  justice  to  the  rest.  The  Commander-in-Chief, 
General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  rode  up  at  this  juncture,  and 
learning  the  contemplated  movement,  determined  to  accompany 
it.  Placing  himself  on  the  left  of  Little's  regiment,  his  com 
manding  figure  in  full  uniform,  conspicuous  to  every  eye,  he 
waited  the  signal.  General  Breckinridge,  disposing  his  staff 
along  the  line,  rode  to  the  right  of  the  same  regiment,  and  with 
a  wild  shout,  which  rose  high  above  the  din  of  battle,  on  swept 
the  line,  through  a  storm  of  fire,  over  the  hill,  across  the  inter 
vening  ravine,  and  up  the  slope  occupied  by  the  enemy.  Noth 
ing  could  withstand  it.  The  enemy  broke  and  fled  for  half  a 
mile,  hotly  pursued,  until  he  reached  the  shelter  of  his  batteries. 
Well  did  the  Kentuckians  sustain  that  day  their  honor  and  their 
fame.  Of  the  little  band  of  officers  who  started  on  that  forlorn 
hope,  but  one  was  unscathed,  the  gallant  Breckinridge  himself. 
Colonel  Hawkins  was  wounded  in  the  face;  Captain  Allen's  leg 
was  torn  to  pieces  by  a  shell ;  the  horses  of  the  fearless  boy, 
Cabell  Breckinridge,  and  of  the  Adjutant  General,  were  killed 
under  them,  and  General  Johnston  was  lifted  dying  from  his  sad 
dle.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  success,  brilliant  as  it 
was,  decisive  as  it  was,  compensated  for  the  loss  of  the  great 
Captain. 

Few  men  have  moved  upon  the  stage  of  public  life  who  have 
been  the  peers  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston.  Tall  and  command 
ing  in  person,  of  gentle  and  winning  address,  he  was  the  most 
unassuming  of  men ;  yet  his  mind  was  cast  in  nature's  largest 
mould  ;  possessed  of  that  high  and  serene  courage  which  no 
reverses  or  trials  could  overcome,  patient  in  difficulties,  earnest 
in  effort,  firm  in  purpose,  he  had  been  invested  by  the  President 
with  the  powers  of  a  Pro-Consul.  His  sway  extended  from  the 
Alleghenies  to  the  western  confines  of  Texas.  Supervising  the 
movements  of  five  separate  armies,  in  countries  hundreds  of 
miles  apart,  his  capacious  mind  embraced  the  details  of  all, 
while  exercising  almost  unlimited  authority  over  four  millions 
of  people.  No  stain  of  personal  or  selfish  ambition  rests  upon 
his  noble  character.  The  nation  and  the  army  felt  that  there 
was  always  hope  while  Sidney  Johnston  lived,  and  yet  his  death 
was  not  without  a  grand  and  crowning  triumph.  Well  he  knew 
the  battle  must  be  won ;  fully  as  well  he  knew,  to  win  the  bat- 


24  First   Kentucky   Brigade. 

tie,  that  charge  must  be  successful.  The  last  vision  which  fell 
upon  his  glazing  sight  was  the  flying  ranks  of  the  enemy ;  the 
last  sound  which  struck  upon  his  ears,  now  sealing  in  death,  was 
the  exultant  shouts  of  his  army,  telling  him  that  the  field  was 
won,  which  he  believed  secured  the  triumph  of  the  cause  for 
which  he  offered  up  his  life. 

Pure  and  lofty  had  been  the  great  soldier's  life; 
Grand  and  worthy  even  of  himself  was  his  death. 

The  general  repulse  of  the  enemy  had  now  thrown  the  re 
serve  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  Confederate  line.  Far  on  the 
left  might  be  heard  the  musketry  of  the  Kentucky  Brigade  and 
the  roar  of  its  artillery  as  it  pushed  its  columns  forward.  It  was 
fighting  its  way  to  its  gallant  General,  and  the  hour  was  drawing 
near  when  they  were  to  meet  in  the  pride  of  glorious  success. 
General  Bragg,  observing  that  behind  the  right  flank  of  the  en 
emy  dense  masses  of  troops  were  massed,  from  which  reserves 
were  drawn  to  sustain  his  line,  concentrated  the  fire  of  his  bat 
teries,  loaded  with  spherical  case  and  shell,  upon  them.  The 
effect  was  magical.  The  right  of  the  enemy  broke  and  fled,  the 
centre  followed,  then  the  left  wing;  and  charging  along  the 
whole  line,  the  Confederate  army  swept  through  the  camps  of 
the  enemy,  capturing  three  thousand  prisoners  and  driving  the 
Federal  force  cowering  beneath  the  shelter  of  the  iron-clad  gun 
boats  ;  and  then  and  there,  in  the  full  fruition  of  success,  the 
Kentucky  Brigade  and  its  General  met  for  the  first  time  during 
that  bloody  day  since  their  separation  in  the  morning,  both  cov 
ered  with  glory ;  both  proud  of  and  gratified  with  each  other. 
The  terrible  day  of  reckoning  so  long  and  so  patiently  waited  for 
had  come  at  last ;  and  as  they  strode  over  the  field  of  blood  their 
pathway  to  vengence  had  been  lit  by  the  gleam  of  bayonets  and 
the  lurid  glare  of  the  cannon's  flash.  The  greatest  conflict  which 
as  yet  had  taken  place  between  the  sections  had  been  won  by  the 
scorned  and  despised  "  Southern  mob."  For  fifteen  hours  they 
steadily  drove  before  them  the  finest  army  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment.  Superior  in  numbers,  in  discipline,  in  arms,  and 
equipments,  the  army  of  Grant  had  lost  its  camps,  its  baggage, 
provisions  and  supplies,  and  the  panic-stricken  remnant  of  it 
huddled  cowering  under  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee,  only  pro 
tected  from  total  annihilation  by  the  gunboats  lying  in  the 


First   Kentucky   Brigade.  25 

stream,  a  disorganized  and  terror-stricken  mob,  while  its  dead 
and  wounded  lay  in  thousands  for  miles  behind  the  Confederate 
army.  By  some  fatal  misapprehension  of  those  in  authority, 
which  it  is  useless  now  to  discuss,  the  full  fruits  of  the  victory  were 
not  gathered.  The  Confederate  army  paused  when  it  had  only 
to  stretch  forth  its  hands  and  grasp  as  prisoners  of  war  the  whole 
hostile  force.  Night  fell  quickly  over  the  scene  of  carnage,  and 
the  tired  heroes,  worn  out  with  the  long  and  harassing  march  of 
the  preceding  days,  and  the  fifteen  hours  of  mortal  combat,  sank, 
by  regiments  and  brigades,  upon  the  blood-soaked  earth,  amid 
the  dead  and  dying,  to  sleep — a  sleep  so  deep  and  profound  that 
not  even  the  groans  of  the  wounded,  or  the  deep  boom  of  the 
heavy  guns  of  the  enemy,  which  were  fired  during  the  whole 
night,  could  break  or  disturb  it.  No  record  exists  of  a  contest 
between  such  numbers  of  men  in  a  country  so  densely  wooded 
and  in  a  space  so  confined.  Brilliant  generalship  General  John 
ston  undoubtedly  displayed  in  surprising  the  enemy,  and  in  the 
skill  with  which  he  handled  raw  troops,  hurling  mass  after  mass 
upon  the  enemy  and  beating  him  in  detail ;  but  there  was  neither 
room  nor  opportunity  for  strategy  or  maneuvre — it  was  a  death 
grapple  of  man  to  man — stern  and  deadly  combat  j^which  the 
men  of  the  South  maintained  their  long  and  proud  pre-emi 
nence. 

During  the  night,  General  Buell  with  a  fresh  army  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men,  nearly  as  large  as  the  Confederate  army 
originally  was,  came  up,  hastily  crossed  the  river,  and  threw 
himself  in  front  of  the  army  defeated  on  the  6th.  The  Confed 
erate  army,  in  the  meantime,  after  despoiling  the  Federal  camps, 
had  been  withdrawn  beyond  them  and  formed  anew  in  order  of 
battle.  Skirmishing  commenced  at  6  o'clock,  A.  M.,  but  the 
engagement  did  not  become  general  until  9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  from 
which  time,  until  2  P.  M.,  the  Northern  armies  were  again,  as 
on  the  day  before,  steadily  driven  back  through  its  camps  and 
forced  towards  the  river.  A  heavy  and  continuous  rain  had 
commenced  falling  at  midnight  after  the  battle  of  the  6th,  and 
continued  until  near  daylight.  The  effect  of  this  upon  men 
wearied  and  exhausted,  as  was  the  Southern  army,  was  terrible. 
The  wounded  who  had  fallen  late  in  the  evening,  and  near  the 
enemy's  lines,  could  not  be  recovered ;  they  were  consequently 


26  First   Kentucky   Brigade. 

exposed  during  the  entire  night,  and  endured  sufferings  of  the 
most  agonizing  character.  It  was  impossible,  too,  in  the  dark 
ness  and  confusion,  to  reform  the  lines  for  a  night  bivouac  with 
that  accuracy  desirable  in  such  critical  circumstances,  and  the 
proximity  of  the  abandoned  camps  of  the  enemy  afforded  a 
temptation  to  straggling  which,  in  too  many  cases,  proved  irre 
sistible,  and,  as  was  seen  during  the  battle  of  the  next  day,  demor 
alized  many  corps,  and  impaired  the  efficiency,  to  a  great  extent, 
of  the  army,  and  it  may,  with  truth,  be  said,  led  to  the  loss  of  the 
second  day's  battle.  So  great,  indeed,  had  been  the  diminution 
of  the  ranks  by  death,  wounds,  and  straggling,  that  at  no  time 
during  the  contest  of  the  /th  was  General  Beauregard  enabled  to 
bring  more  than  fifteen  thousand  effective  men  to  hand  in  battle. 
The  army  of  the  enemy  under  General  Grant  had  been  totally 
defeated,  and  had  only  escaped  complete  rout  and  annihilation 
by  its  inability  to  cross  the  Tennessee  river,  and  the  protection 
of  the  gunboats  ;  thousands  had  been  slain,  thousands  wounded, 
thousands  captured,  and  thousands  demoralized,  but  in  a  force  so 
large  as  it  originally  was  (estimated  by  its  own  officers  at  forty- 
two  thousand  men)  there  were,  of  course,  large  masses  capable 
of  effecti-^^ervice  on  Monday;  to  these  was  to  be  added  the 
force  of  Biiell  of  twenty-five  thousand  fresh  troops,  and  it  may 
be  safely  estimated  that,  notwithstanding  the  reverse  of  Sunday, 
and  the  immense  loss  of  the  enemy  on  that  day,  he  took  the 
field  on  Monday  with  quite  forty  thousand  combatants,  or  nearly 
three  times  the  Southern  force.  The  leaders  of  the  Confederate 
army  were  fully  advised  of  the  reinforcement,  and  of  the  peril 
which  threatened  the  Confederate  army  in  a  second  conflict  in 
its  exhausted  condition,  but  they  deemed  it  necessary  to  cripple 
this  force  before  withdrawing  from  the  field. 

The  Kentucky  Brigade  which  had  preserved,  to  a  great  ex 
tent,  its  organization  and  discipline,  was  again  stationed  upon 
the  extreme  left.  Its  battery  of  artillery,  commanded  by  Capt. 
Byrne  (Cobb's  battery  having  on  Sunday  been  destroyed  in  bat 
tle),  was  engaged  for  three  hours  with  two  batteries  of  the  ene 
my — firing  during  the  duel  more  than  one  thousand  cartridges, 
and  finally  silenced  both.  The  infantry,  drawn  up  in  order  of 
battle  as  a  support  to  the  battery,  stood  enthusiastic  spectators 
of  the  tremendous  cannonade ;  and,  although  frequently  suffer- 


First   Kentucky    Brigade.  27 

ing  severely  from  the  grape  of  the  enemy,  more  than  once  broke 
spontaneously  into  a  shout  of  encouragoment  and  admiration  at 
the  gallant  manner  in  which  Byrne  handled  his  guns.  The  ene 
my  hurled  charge  after  charge  of  infantry  against  it,  but  unsuc 
cessfully.  The  fifth  regiment  of  infantry,  commanded  by  Col. 
Thos.  H.  Hunt,  charged  in  turn,  routing  the  opposing  force,  but 
with  some  loss  to  its  force,  losing  many  valuable  officers.  Col 
onel  Robert  Trabue,  of  the  4th  Kentucky  Regiment,  as  senior 
Colonel  of  the  brigade,  commanded  it  on  this,  as  on  the  preced 
ing  day,  with  conspicuous  gallantry  and  marked  soldiery  ability. 
But  there  is  a  limit  to  human  endurance.  The  battle  of  the 
;th  was  fought  by  General  Beauregard  with  but  fifteen  thousand 
men.  Exhausted  by  the  struggle  of  the  preceding  day,  he  had 
received  no  reinforcements,  and  he  determined,  at  2  o'clock,  P. 
M.,  to  withdraw.  In  good  order,  and  with  the  precision  of  a 
parade,  division  after  division  was  withdrawn.  General  Breckin- 
ridge,  with  his  own  brigade  and  Statham's  brigade,  bringing  up 
the  rear,  and  bivouacking  at  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  during  the 
night,  within  sight  of  the  enemy's  lines.  A  soaking  rain  fell  all 
night  upon  the  wearied  troops  of  the  rear  guard,  while  the  rest 
of  the  army  slowly  made  its  way  to  Corinth. 

Many  of  the  noblest  of  the  sons  of  Kentucky  ha^Jllen ;  but 
conspicuous  in  position  and  character  were  two  men  who,  in 
the  same  discharge,  in  the  same  regiment,  and  within  a  few  feet 
of  each  other,  fell  mortally  wounded. 

George  W.  Johnson,  of  Scott  county,  Kentucky,  had  passed 
more  than  forty  years  of  his  life  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agri 
culture.  Singularly  modest  and  retiring  in  demeanor,  he  had 
seemed  to  scorn  the  turmoil  of  public  life  and  the  undignified 
contest  for  public  place.  The  soul  of  honor  and  high  integrity, 
he  was  respected  by  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  Earn 
est  and  sincere  in  purpose,  his  course  in  all  things  was  open,  to 
a  proverb  ;  cultivated  in  mind,  he  was  a  profound  thinker,  if 
not  an  active  participator,  in  national  politics.  Early  in  the  his 
tory  of  secession  he  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  sep 
aration  was  final ;  and  with  all  the  earnestness  of  his  straight 
forward  nature  he  had  urged  that  Kentucky  should  share  the 
fate  and  cast  her  fortunes  with  the  South.  When  it  was  evi 
dent  that  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  had  sold  and  bartered 


28  First   Kentucky   Brigade, 

her  honor  to  the  Federal  Government,  he  promptly  abandoned 
home  and  its  tranquil  enjoyments  to  cast  his  lot  with  those  of 
his  countrymen,  who  were  gathering  at  Bowling  Green  to  resist 
the  attempt  at  coercion  ;  and  yet  in  an  act  of  revolution,  the 
strong  reverence  of  the  man  for  law,  order,  and  regular  govern 
ment,  manifested  itself.  Mainly  and  almost  wholly  to  his  efforts 
is  due  the  formation  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Ken 
tucky,  of  which  he  was  elected  the  head ;  and  when  the  army 
retreated  from  Kentucky,  gathering  his  Council  around  him,  he 
accompanied  it  in  all  its  vicissitudes  and  movements.  On  Sun 
day,  during  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  he  served  as  a  volunteer  Aid- 
de-Camp  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Kentucky  Brigade, 
until  his  horse  was  killed  under  him,  when,  seizing  a  musket,  he 
took  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  4th  regiment  and  fought  on 
foot  during  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Monday  morning  found 
him  in  the  same  humble  position,  assuming  all  the  duties  and 
sharing  art  the  dangers  of  a  simple  private  in  the  ranks.  At 
eleven  o'clock  he  fell,  shot  through  the  body,  remaining  alone 
and  unaided  on  the  field  while  the  army  fell  back,  and  during 
the  long  and  inclement  night  which  succeeded.  He  was  found 
on  the  morning  of  Tuesday  by  the  enemy,  and  died  in  his  camp. 
None  wholcnew  him  can  doubt  that  through  the  long  hours  of 
that  day  olagony,  and  the  silent  stillness  of  that  night  of  suffer 
ing  and  pain,  his  great  heart  was  consoled  by  the  conviction  of 
the  swift  coming  independence  of  his  country. 

Thos.  B.  Monroe  had  early  entered  public  life.  His  firmness 
of  character,  depth  of  information,  and  brilliancy  of  talent,  indi 
cated  him  as  a  leader  of  men  in  the  first  hours  of  his  manhood. 
Called  before  he  was  thirty  years  of  age  to  the  Secretaryship  of 
State,  he  had  zealously  and  determinedly  advocated  the  seces 
sion  of  the  State.  Disappointed,  as  were  thousands  of  others, 
at  her  lukewarmness,  he  had  resigned  the  Secretaryship,  and, 
making  his  way  through  the  lines  of  the  Federal  army  to  Bowl 
ing  Green,  had  been  appointed  Major  of  the  4th  Kentucky  Reg 
iment.  The  promise  of  his  military  career  equaled  that  of  his 
civil  life.  A  few  weeks  only  was  necessary  to  place  him  high  in 
the  estimation  of  the  senior  officers  of  the  army,  and  to  win  for 
him  the  unbounded  confidence  of  his  men.  He  fell,  mortally 
wounded,  within  a  few  feet  of  Governor  Johnson,  and  died  on 


First   Kentucky   Brigade.  29 

the  field  of  battle,  bequeathing  his  sword  to  his  infant  son,  and 
with  the  last  breath,  requesting  he  might  be  told  "  his  father  had 
died  in  defense  of  his  honor  and  the  rights  of  his  country." 

The  morning  of  the  8th  of  April  was  consumed  in  falling  back 
to  the  junction  of  the  Corinth  and  Burnsville  roads,  where  Gen 
eral  Breckinridge  stubbornly  took  his  stand,  with  his  force  biv 
ouacking  in  the  open  air,  sinking  often  to  their  boot-tops  in  mud, 
drenched  nightly  with  the  rain,  he  and  they  obstinately  refused 
to  move  an  inch  until  the  wounded  in  the  hospitals  were  re 
moved.  Again  and  again  the  enemy  sent  out  strong  columns 
to  dislodge  him.  Sometimes  these  were  charged  by  the  cavalry 
under  Forrest  and  Adams,  and  driven  back  in  disorder,  losing 
many  prisoners ;  sometimes,  overawed  by  his  firm  and  dauntless 
front,  they  retired  without  attacking.  For  five  days  he  thus 
held  his  position,  his  whole  force  subsisting  on  rations  of  dam 
aged  bread  and  raw  pork.  When  he  did  move  every  wounded 
man  had  been  sent  forward ;  the  army  was  safe  in  its  lines  at 
Corinth.  On  the  I3th  of  April  he  marched,  at  the  head  of  his 
band  of  heroes,  wasted  now  to  spectres,  haggard  with  hunger 
and  suffering,  into  Corinth.  He  had  won  for  himself  through 
out  that  entire  army,  the  reputation  of  a  skillful  Gen^^^a  brave 
and  courageous  captain,  and  had  now  the  ardent  lol^Hd  devo 
tion  of  strangers  as  well  as  friends,  and  was  the  idol  oT  the  Re 
serve.  At  Corinth  he  received  the  just  reward  of  his  high  and 
soldierly  conduct,  the  commission  of  a  Major-General,  and  passed 
to  the  command,  permanently,  of  a  division.  Here  appropriate 
ly  ends  the  history  of  these  troops  as  a  brigade.  They  served 
throughout  the  war  in  other  brigades  and  divisions,  but  no 
longer  continued  to  act  as  one  organization. 

The  cause  of  Southern  independence  has  gone  down  in  blood. 
These  men  and  their  compeers  had  elected  to  tiy  their  cause  in 
the  tribunal  of  last  resort,  the  forum  of  battle.  The  verdict  has 
been  rendered  against  them  ;  there  is  no  expectation,  or,  perhaps, 
wish,  for  further  appeal.  Hanson  fell  mortally  wounded  at  Mur- 
fresboro,  Helm  died  at  Chickamauga,  Thompson  was  slain  on 
the  very  spot  of  his  birth  and  his  infancy  in  Kentucky,  to  which 
he  had  returned  after  three  stormy  years  of  absence.  Buckner 
surrendered  his  sword,  last  of  all  of  the  commanders  of  the 
South,  in  the  extreme  western  confines  of  the  Confederacy,  and 


3O  First  Kentucky    Brigade. 

only  when  the  advancing  wave  of  Federal  conquest, -after  sweep 
ing  across  the  face  of  the  continent,  had  borne  to  his  very  feet 
the  wreck  of  the  nation  whose  soldier  he  deemed  himself. 
Breckinridge,  in  exile  with  saddened  eyes,  strives  through  the 
mists  of  the  great  lakes  of  the  north,  to  catch  some  glimpse  of 
the  land  he  loved  so  fervently  and  served  so  faithfully.  Of  their 
less  distinguished  comrades,  hundreds  are  lying  all  along  the 
route  of  the  sad  retreat  from  Bowling  Green,  consigned  to  un- 
consecrated  earth,  their  requium  the  sighs  of  their  sorrowing 
comrades.  Many  are  resting  by  the  lonely  banks  of  the  Ten 
nessee  and  beneath  the  deep  shadows  of  the  tropical  foliage  of 
Baton  Rouge.  They  will  sleep  none  the  less  tranquilly  in  their 
quiet  and  unmarked  graves  because  the  dear  land  for  whose 
deliverance  they  fought  so  long  and  so  well,  is  ground  by  the 
heel  of  centralized  power.  Some  survive,  their  mutilated  forms 
monuments  of  a  heroism  which  would  have  illustrated  the  days 
of  Bayard  or  of  Coeur  de  Lion.  The  memory  of  neither  the 
living  nor  the  dead  "will  be  rendered  infamous"  until  the  peo 
ples  of  the  earth  have  ceased  to  honor  manliness  of  spirit,  free 
dom  of  thought,  and  heroism  of  deeds.  Imbued  with  the  loftiest 
sentimej^^vhich  ever  animated  the  bosoms  of  men,  they  went 
forth  to  poverty,  to  exile,  to  suffering,  to  battle,  and  to  death, 
for  whaflroey  believed  to  be  the  maintenance  of  constitutional 
liberty  and  free  government. 

Selfish  ambitions  and  personal  aspirations  had  no  abiding 
place  in  their  world.  Men  bore  the  firelock  and  served  as  sub 
alterns,  who  could,  with  brilliant  genius,  have  wielded  the  baton 
of  Generals.  Among  them  but  one  ambition  existed,  who 
should  most  faithfully  serve,  who  should  most  steadfastly  die. 
Kentucky  has  no  cause  to  blush  for  them.  The  principles  they 
upheld  had  been  taught  them  on  her  soil ;  they  are  embalmed 
in  the  archives  of  her  Legislatures,  enunciated  in  manifestoes  of 
her  conventions.  Wayward  though  she  may  deem  these  chil 
dren  in  the  assertion  of  her  rights,  they  are  still  her  sons.  Not 
now,  perhaps,  but  in  the  fulness  of  coming  time,  the  proud  old 
mother  will,  with  an  eager  zeal,  gather  these  her  offspring  to 
rest  in  the  only  fitting  place,  her  honored  bosom.  Not  now, 
perhaps,  but  in  the  coming  time,  on  that  monument  which  she 
has  erected  at  her  Capital  to  those  who  have  in  the  past,  and 


First  Kentucky   Brigade.  31 

will  in  the  future,  serve  her,  she  will  inscribe  their  names  and 
write  beneath  them,  "  these,  too,  were  my  children,  and  died  in 
what  they  believed  was  the  defense  of  my  honor."  We  who 
saw  the  gallant  dead  shrouded  in  their  gory  cerements,  await 
with  calm  confidence  the  coming  of  that  time. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


MAI 


J967  *  2 


JU15    '67-, 


LD  21A-60m-2,'67 
(H241slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


